Folklorist Alan Lomax spent his life making priceless recordings of some of the most important early figures in American music — from his famed recordings of Huddie “Leadbelly” Ledbetter to Jelly Roll Morton, from Muddy Waters to Woody Guthrie. Now, that entire collection — some 17,000 tracks — is being digitized for online streaming. Lomax often spoke of creating a [...]

It’s safe to say that without the tireless efforts of  Alan Lomax , the world may never have been introduced to the likes of Woody Guthrie, Muddy Waters, Leadbelly or countless other musicians the folklorist and ethnomusicologist recorded on dusty back roads, barns or just about anywhere else he could set up his recording gear. Lomax spent his entire career making field recordings of folk and traditional music, both in the U.S. and abroad, amassing a collection of 5,000 hours of sound recordings, 400,000 feet of film, 3,000 videotapes, 5,000 photographs and piles of manuscripts ...

As Jay-Z gets set to perform a pair of benefit shows next week at Carnegie Hall, and tastemakers like Diplo routinely seek out plainspoken music from impoverished areas both rural and urban, it might be tough to remember there was ever a divide between so-called high and low culture. In the mid-1930s, however, when folklorist Alan Lomax started making field recordings across the South, hillbilly music and African-American blues were considered, well, déclassé. The music in Lomax's vaults helped pave the way for everyone from Bob Dylan and the Rolling Stones to Spinal Tap, and soon it will all ...

When ethnomusicologist and folklorist Alan Lomax died in 2002, he left behind a gigantic library of research materials—in other words, a treasure trove of crystallized musical Americana. Now, a decade later, the masses will be granted access to Lomax’s inventory: A collection of his field recordings are being digitized, and some 17,000 of them will be available for free streaming online by the end of this month. Among the 17,000 selections are early recordings by Woody Guthrie, Leadbelly, and Muddy Waters. Other parts of his vast archive—namely, 5,000 hours of music, 5,000 photographs ...

This album is heavy as f*ck and will melt your face off! I always wanted to write a review that says absolutely nothing about the music on the disc (trying Googling “heavy as f*ck” or “melt your face off” and see how many times these phrases have been used in CD reviews). Most reviews that I’ve read of The Doors’ 40th Anniversary edition of L.A. Woman use most of their inches talking about the disc’s original release in 1971. With this disc having now been out 41 years, is there anyone out there who doesn ...

Alan Lomax's extensive archive of field recordings is being digitized for an online collection that will begin streaming by the end of February Some 17000 of Lomax's recordings will be available for free including early recordings of folk and blues legends such as Woody Guthrie Leadbelly and Muddy Waters Selections of...

"...Starting in the mid-1930s, when he made his first field recordings in the South,  Lomax was the foremost music folklorist in the United States. He was the first to record Muddy Waters and Woody Guthrie, and much of what Americans have learned about folk and traditional music stems from his efforts, which were also directly responsible for the folk music and skiffle booms in the United States and Britain that shaped the pop-music revolution of the 1960s and beyond... ... Long before the Internet existed, he envisioned a “global jukebox” to disseminate and analyze the material he had gathered during decades ...

When it comes to paying tribute to the blues greats, few classic rock acts have done as much as Foghat over the years. Case in point, their first hit single was a classic cover of Willie Dixon's "I Just Want To Make Love To You," and they organized a 1977 star-studded NYC concert that benefited the start of the Blues Archive at the New York Public Library. Foghat was the house band backing their special guests including Muddy Waters, John Lee Hooker, Johnny Winter, Paul Butterfield, Honeyboy Edwards, Eddie Kirkland and many others).

Notes from YouTube: In this clip from a 1971 performance, Muddy Waters and his band perform "Manish Boy." From the DVD "Muddy Waters In Concert 1971.

Cadillac Records (USA 2008) Regia : Darnell Martin Cast : Adrien Brody, Jeffrey Wright, Beyoncé Knowles, Cedric the Entertainer, Eamonn Walker, Mos Def, Columbus Short, Emmanulle Chriqui, Shiloh Fernandez, Suzette Gunn, Q-Tip, Norman Reedus, Gabrielle Union Genere : musicale Se ti piace guarda anche : Ray, La Bamba, Quando l’amore brucia l’anima - Walk the Line Mosso, anzi commosso dalla scomparsa di Etta James, sono andato a recuperarmi Cadillac Records. Un film non solo sulla grande voce del soul recentemente volata in cielo a duettare con Amy Winehouse, ma più in generale sulla Chess Records. La Chess Records , nonostante il nome, non faceva ...

(mp3) Muddy Waters - Ramblin' mind Available on After the Rain (1969) (mp3) Amanda Jensson - Common Henry Available on Happyland (2009) (mp3) S - Wait Available on I'm Not As Good At It As You (2010) (mp3) FreeBass - She said Available on It's a Beautiful Life (2010) (mp3) Sly & The Family Stone - Poet Available on There's a Riot Goin' On (1971)

Delta Blues: The Life and Times of the Mississippi Masters Who Revolutionized American Music Paperback: 449 pages Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company (November 2, 2009) Language: English ISBN-10: 0393337502 ISBN-13: 978-0393337501 Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.5 x 0.8 inches “The essential history of this distinctly American genre.”—Atlanta Journal-Constitution In this “expertly researched, elegantly written, dispassionate yet thoughtful history” (Gary Giddins), award-winning author Ted Gioia gives us “the rare combination of a tome that is both deeply informative and enjoyable to read” (Publishers Weekly, starred review). From the field hollers of nineteenth-century plantations to Muddy Waters and ...

KISS singer/guitarist Paul Stanley celebrated his 60th birthday yesterday (Friday, January 20) at a surprise party Soho House in Los Angeles thrown by his wife Erin Stanley and KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons.

Much has been written about Etta James ' pipes, but what about her style? Beyonce and Etta James are icons in their own right, but it was Beyonce who introduced a new audience to James when she played Etta in Cadillac Records , a semi-fictional retelling of the rise of Chess Records and the early careers of James, Chuck Berry and Muddy Waters in 1950s Chicago.   STORY:   Etta James Rushed To Hospital The 2008 film was a smash, so much so, that Beyonce was invited to perform Etta's signature song "At Last" at the inauguration of Barack Obama in January 2009 ...

In 2008, the life and times of Etta James was documented in a searingly accurate portrayal in the film Cadillac Records . DETAILS: RIP: Etta James Dies At 73 Beyonce played Etta James in the tale of a record label that helped launched the career of James and other black musicians.  The label started selling albums from the back of Leonard Chess' Cadillac, and launched the careers of not only Etta James, but also legendary musical personalities like blues singers and harmonica players Little Walter and Muddy Waters, as well as songwriter Chuck Berry. PHOTOS: Beyonce as ETTA James In Cadillac ...